The Car Connection Ford Focus Overview

The Ford Focus is a family of compact cars, most recently redesigned in the 2012 model year. Offered in sedan and hatchback body styles—and as a hatchback electric car—the Focus was significantly updated for the 2015 model year, and is currently sold in S, SE, Titanium, ST, and RS trim.

The Focus is the American automaker's global best-seller and a challenger for the Honda Civic, Toyota Corolla, and Chevrolet Cruze, among many others.

With the Focus, Ford also offers a hot hatchback to cap the lineup. The Ford Focus RS arrives this year, for the first time in the model's history. This harder-core version of the Focus ST adds all-wheel drive and an even more powerful turbocharged 4-cylinder engine. The new RS also has more aggressive bodywork, a reworked suspension, and grippier tires.

The new Ford Focus

The current third-generation Focus was launched as a four-door sedan and a five-door hatchback for the 2012 model year. The two-door and wagon models offered in previous generations and in Europe are not available here, while a sporty Focus ST "hot hatch" model joined the lineup for 2013.

The redesigned Focus is built in Michigan and shares about 80 percent of its design with the version sold in Europe. This version has excellent ride and handling as well as a more sophisticated driving feel overall. A new-generation direct-injection engine returns good gas mileage—up to 40 mpg in special SFE trim. The current Focus is great evidence that small cars don't have to seem like appliances, but can offer style, rewarding drivers, and upmarket features—if you're willing to pay for them.

On the efficiency front, Ford has lately emphasized sales of its Prius competitors, the compact hybrid C-Max (built on Focus underpinnings) and the C-Max Energi plug-in hybrid model, offering 21 miles of battery range backed up by a gasoline engine. But for 2015, a new model joins the Focus lineup: one with a tiny turbocharged 1.0-liter 3-cylinder engine paired to a 6-speed manual. It's the kind of car that would have been unthinkable for a U.S. maker only a few years ago, but more efficient smaller engines and ever-rising corporate fuel economy rules have brought this most efficient of Focuses to the tale.

At the other end of the scale, the Focus ST launched in 2013 features a 252-hp, turbocharged 2.0-liter inline-4 and much sportier suspension tuning, along with performance improvements throughout. We've driven the 2013 Ford Focus ST and found it to be a very satisfying enthusiasts' car, while remaining one that you can drive daily on your commute, as well as for long highway trips. It was good enough, in fact, that it won a nomination for the Best Car To Buy award by Motor Authority.

Ford offers a Focus Electric hatchback in a handful of states. The company doesn't do much to promote it, which leads us to believe it is simply a so-called "compliance car," designed to meet California regulations that require companies to sell a certain number of zero-emission vehicles to be allowed to sell other vehicles in the state. Ford recently slashed the price of the Focus Electric by $6,000, which means the company may not be selling as many as it needs to.

While the current Focus is base-priced just under $17,000 with delivery, it's easy to spend upwards of $10,000 more if you ladle on the luxury items that Ford offers—separately and as part of the top-end Platinum trim level. Ford dropped the SEL trim from the Focus lineup after a year, going from SE to Platinum. But the current Focus has all sorts of class-first options—including the MyFord Touch interface, active parking assistance, and HD Radio.

For 2013 and 2014, the Focus rated an overall five-star National Highway Traffic Safety Administration safety score, while early models were slightly lower. It's one of the few compact sedans to have earned both that and IIHS Top Safety Pick status. It earned an "Acceptable" rating in the tough new IIHS small-overlap front crash test—just one notch down from the top "Good" that it earned on all other tests.

The Focus received a visual refresh for the 2015 model year, including a revised front end and upgraded interior. Engine offerings were expanded as well: A version using the 3-cylinder, 1.0-liter engine joined the lineup, after first becoming available in the smaller smaller Fiesta. The ST and Focus Electric benefited from the styling updates as well, although both left their powertrains unchanged for 2015.

For the 2016 model year, the all-wheel-drive rally-ready Focus RS joined the lineup. The most expensive Focus yet, it's also the fastest--with 350 hp on tap, it can hit 60 mph in under 4.6 seconds.

Ford Focus history

The original Ford Focus replaced the old Escort back in 2000 and has been the company's compact car line ever since. When it was first introduced that year, the Focus replaced not only the Ford Escort but also the slightly larger Ford Contour sedan, which was then discontinued. At that time, the Focus was a more upscale-feeling small car than most, offering a better interior experience than competitors, plus critically lauded handling, so the top rivals at the time were the Volkswagen Golf/Jetta and Mazda Protégé.

Over its life, the Focus has had a variety of body styles, including two- and four-door sedans, three- and five-door hatchbacks, and a wagon. As compacts have gotten larger over the years, the Focus lost its place as the entry-level model in Ford's lineup when the Fiesta subcompact arrived for 2011.

In its initial several years, the Focus was offered with 2.0-liter 4-cylinder engines making 110 hp or 130 hp, with the 130-hp (DOHC) version being the pick of the two. Most models could be equipped with a 5-speed manual or 4-speed automatic, though for many years wagon models were oddly offered only with an automatic. Some models were offered with a 2.3-liter engine. In addition to all the body styles, the Focus was available in many different trim levels and could be loaded with luxury items like leather upholstery and a moonroof.

A 2005-model-year refresh simplified the lineup in many ways and brought crisper front-end styling; the engine lineup changed to 136-hp (2.0-liter) and 151-hp (2.3-liter) versions of Ford's more modern Duratec engine. Focus models from this era and later are generally considered more reliable than the earlier ones—and for wagon and hatch aficionados, 2005 to 2007 is the sweet spot.

For 2008, the Focus lineup was refreshed more thoroughly, with an extensively redone interior, more refinement, and expanded safety features. The wagon was dropped along with all hatchback models, replaced by a rather homely looking two-door coupe sold alongside the sedan. Also of note, Ford chose the youth-oriented Focus in which to introduce its new Sync hands-free interface, which later spread to the rest of the lineup.

Ford offered electronic stability control early on for the Focus, but then discontinued it in 2004. Focus models without the optional side airbags have been rated "Poor" by the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety, so they are somewhat of a must-have. Through this era, the Focus didn't do so well in federal crash tests—for the early years of the Focus, three-door hatchback versions earned one star (out of five) for rear-seat passengers in the side-impact test, while it was only rated three stars in several categories.

Today's Focus ST has roots in European performance models that weren't brought here but also the original SVT Focus offered in the first generation. That car packed a high-output 4-cylinder making 170 hp, a strengthened Getrag 6-speed manual transmission, uprated brakes, a tony exhaust, and a stiffened suspension. It was lots of fun to drive and is still admired by hot-hatch lovers.

Good value for money

I LOVE FORD PRODUCTS SINCE 1960 AND KEEP DRIVING NOW FORD FOCUS MODELS

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February 8, 2016

2015 Ford Focus 5-Door HB ST

Wish it had more poiwer.

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This is my 2nd Focus. Much improved over 2012. Wish it had more power and crash avoidance.

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November 22, 2015

2015 Ford Focus 4-Door Sedan SE

1 liter Ecoboost Focus

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Although I own a Mustang GT and a Fusion Hybrid my favourite one is the Focus. My wife and I often travel to Europe and have always rented cars in this category ( compact,small engine,six speed, fun and...
Although I own a Mustang GT and a Fusion Hybrid my favourite one is the Focus.
My wife and I often travel to Europe and have always rented cars in this category ( compact,small engine,six speed, fun and economical)
Now finally I'm able to drive a european car with a German engine everyday without having to cross the ocean.
I said all I need to say to highlight these vehicle:
1.Nice looking 4 door sedan
2.Sporty
3.Fun and economical with an affordable price.
4. Average of 6 liters per 100 kms. combined city-highway.